SOCIAL

STUDIES SBA
March 9, 2021
Grade 10
SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT (SBA) GUIDE
• The Social Studies School Based Assessment (SBA) contributes 20% of the
marks (40 marks) to the CSEC Social Studies General Proficiency
Examination.
• The student usually conducts a survey research on a selected problem. The
student can select a topic from any part of syllabus ( “Individual , Family and
Society”, “Sustainable Developmen t and Use of Resources” or any one of
the Opt ions – “Communication”, “Consumer Affairs” and “Tourism”.).
• In survey research, you obtain information on facts, opinions, attitudes,
behavior, beliefs and people’s motivation

• In selecting your topic you will need to read newspaper and journal articles related
to the topic/s you intend to do your study on in order to get a clearer understanding
• Students who write more than 1200 words or less than 1000 words will have 10% of
their marks deducted.
• Only 11 to 12 questions are needed to prepare your questionnaires, however,
questions on demography are not counted in the 11 to 12 questions.
• The SBA must be divided into chapters

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 TASKS AT A GLIMPSE

In the research project, candidates should:

• 1. state the problem researched in an appropriate question form;
• 2. give the reason(s) for selecting the area of research;
• 3. select an appropriate method of investigation;
• 4. design a simple instrument to collect data;
• 5. describe the procedures used for data collection;
• 6. present data using at least three appropriate forms;
• 7. analyse and interpret data with reference to the question asked in Task 1;
• 8. state findings;
• 9. make recommendations based on findings and suggest measures to implement one.

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 DIVISION OF WORK

• The SBA must be divided into chapters

• Chapter One
• Statement of Problem Task 1 (2 marks)
• Reason for Selecting the Area of Research Task 2 (2 marks)
• Method of Data Collection Task 3 (2 marks)
• Chapter Two
• Data Collection Instrument Task 4 (4 marks)
• Procedure Task 5 (2 marks)
• Presentation of Data Task 6 (6 marks)
• Analysis and Interpretation Task 7 (8 marks)
• Chapter Three
• Findings Task 8 (3 marks)
• Recommendations and Implementation Strategy Task 9 (3 marks)
• Acknowledgement, Table of Content, Bibliography,
• Coverage, Appendices Task 10 (8 marks)
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 TASK1 – Statement of the Problem

• The Statement of the Problem should be in the form of a question

containing three variables. This means three things you hope to achieve
or get from your research.
• For example:
“What are the causes, effects, and possible solutions to the problem of
unemployment in the community of Cumberland?”
or
“To what extent does unemployment affect the social, economical and
educational aspect of the community of Cumberland?”

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 TASK1 – Statement of the Problem (cont’d)

• Use one paragraph to explain the topic.

• For example,
“The purpose of this research is to identify the causes, effects and possible solutions of
unemployment on the community of Cumberland.
Following the purpose of the research, definition of terms will be formed. For example,
Unemployment is the state of being out of work, causes refer to a reason or motive and
effect means the result or consequence of an action, etc.”
Following the explanation of the topic, three research questions must be
formed. For example, “What are the causes of unemployment in the
community of Cumberland?” or “What are the social effects of unemployment
on the community of Cumberland?”
(Punctuation marks are important.)
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 Suggested Topics (the list below is NOT exhausted)

• Water shortage • Teens and Alcohol Consumption

• Unemployment • Students’ involvement in Extra-curricular
activities
• Poor Academic Performance
• Skin Bleaching • Availability and Efficiency of healthcare

• Garbage Collection • Push factors influencing migration

• Single Parent Family • Dancehall Music

• Political Preference • Cyberbullying

• Impact of COVID-19 • Teens and their views on religion

• Prevalence/Impact of Divorce • Pollution

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 Task 2- Reason for Selecting the Area of Research

• Explain why the particular area was chosen to research, (make

reference/mention of research questions.)

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 Task 3 – Method of Data Collection

• Describe an appropriate method of investigation. Say why the method

is used. The following instruments are recommended: questionnaire,
interview schedule, and observation checklist or document search.
State the advantages of the instrument used.

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 Task 3 – Method of Data Collection

Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research device
or instrument that is made up of a
series of questions which are Observation Interview
closed-ended or open-ended.
Observation is a technique that The researcher or interviewer
involves systematically selecting, uses an interview schedule. The
Advantages: watching, listening, reading, researcher visits the
touching, and recording behavior respondents and records their
- It is inexpensive and characteristics of living beings, answers to questions he/she
objects, or phenomena. asks. The questions maybe
- Guarantees anonymity asked in a specific order
- Reaches a large number of (structured) or in a varied
people manners (unstructured).
- Allows for easy collation of data

Disadvantages
- Difficult to clarify ambiguous
responses
- It is impersonal and respondents
may not be motivated to
 Task 4 – Data Collection Instrument

• Design a simple instrument to collect data. On the questionnaire, 2-3

questions should relate to each research question. A copy of the
questionnaire must be placed in the S.B.A. Questions must be properly
sequenced. For example, demographic information (age and gender)
must be the first information on questionnaire followed by questions or
variables (causes, effects and solutions) in this order.

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 Task 5 – Procedures for Data Collection

• The sample size is approximately 25. However, this can be less or more.
Information such as the following should be included: age range,
gender of the sample that is how many males and how many females,
the number of questionnaires distributed, where the questionnaires
were distributed and the number that was collected. The procedure
should state how many respondents were selected and what is meant
by random sampling. A step-by-step description of the procedure used
and how long it took to complete the task should be given. Additionally
any difficulty that the researcher may have faced in collecting the data
must be included.

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 Task 6: Presentation of Data

• Data should be presented in at least three (3) ways, no more than six
(6) using (Pie Chart, Bar Chart, Histogram, Semantic Diagrams and
Tables). Do not use line graphs/pictogram, it is not appropriate.
Diagrams must be well labeled. All charts and tables presented should
have:
(i) A label (e.g. Table 1 or Figure 1)
(ii) A title (e.g. Types of punishment used in schools)
• Diagrams presented must be illustrating your research questions
(cause, effect and solutions)

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 Task 7 – Analysis and Interpretation of Data

• Here you suggest or provide the possible reasons for the data provided.
This speaks to the reason behind the percentages found. Include ratio,
compare and contrast. Conduct research (from The Daily Gleaner/The
Observer). Draw reference from data, related to research questions.
Give personal opinions.

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 Task 8 –Statement of Findings

• There should be three (3) findings based on the research questions. For
each finding, give an explanation using a simple sentence that be
backed up by data.

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 Task 9 – Recommendations and Implementation Strategy

• There should be two (2) personal recommendations and one (1)

practical implementation that may be personal or related to what an
institution can do.

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 Task 10 – Writing Skills and Overall Presentation

• Throughout the research the researcher must ensure that paragraphs

are used and organized logically.
• Additionally the researcher must ensure that their use of language,
spelling and grammar are correct
• The following must be a part of the SBA presentation:
Acknowledgement, Title Page, Completed Table of Contents,
Appendices, Bibliography and Cover Page.

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